1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to seating units and functional interior automotive trim and more particularly to a seatback frame and a combination seat handle and item supporting device for attachment device to the back of a vehicle seating unit.
2. Discussion
Several types of item supporting devices are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,457, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. While the unit described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,457 has provided certain improvements in the pertinent art, it is susceptible nonetheless to improvement.
For example, the prior art item supporting devices are frequently placed on the backs of several seating units within a vehicle, several of which may be removable to allow the vehicle operator to configure the vehicle to carry additional cargo. As these removable seating units tend to be both heavy and bulky, vehicle operators frequently find it difficult to remove and replace them. To aid in their removal and replacement, it is therefore desirable to include a handle on the back of the removable seating unit in addition to the item supporting device. However, including a separate handle would have several significant drawbacks, including the addition of at least one more part number, additional labor to fabricate and install the handle, concerns as to the placement of the handle relative to the item supporting device. Therefore, there remains a need in the art for an item supporting device with an integral handle which can be used to reposition a removable seating unit. There also remains a need in the art for a removable seating unit with a pivoting seatback which has sufficient strength to allow the seating unit to be lifted by a handle attached to the rear side of the seatback.